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Australia

In every part of Australia you’ll find unique experiences to make your dream vacation come true. Australia is filled with fresh flavors, welcoming people and open spaces. Although a young nation, it has a rich history with the world’s oldest living culture and prehistoric nature. It is a land full of stunning natural wonders and some of the friendliest wildlife on the planet. Whether it’s the remoteness of the outback, the pristine waters of the beaches, the world-class dining or the amazing wildlife, it won’t take long for you to realize there’s nothing like Australia.

Aboriginal People Dream on a Timeless Continent

Australia’s Aboriginal people were thought to have arrived there by boat from South East Asia during the last Ice Age, at least 50,000 years ago. At the time of European discovery and settlement, up to one million Aboriginal people lived across the continent as hunters and gatherers. They were scattered in 300 clans and spoke 250 languages and 700 dialects. Each clan had a spiritual connection with a specific piece of land. However, they also travelled widely to trade, find water and seasonal produce and for ritual and totemic gatherings.

Despite the diversity of their homelands - from outback deserts and tropical rainforests to snow-capped mountains – all Aboriginal people share a belief in the timeless, magical realm of the Dreamtime. According to Aboriginal myth, totemic spirit ancestors forged all aspects of life during the Dreamtime of the world’s creation. These spirit ancestors continue to connect natural phenomena, as well as past, present and future through every aspect of Aboriginal culture.

Britain Arrives and Brings its Convicts

A number of European explorers sailed the coast of Australia, then known as New Holland, in the 17th century. However it wasn’t until 1770 that Captain James Cook chartered the east coast and claimed it for Britain. The new outpost was put to use as a penal colony and on 26 January 1788, the First Fleet of 11 ships carrying 1,500 people – half of them convicts – arrived in Sydney Harbour. Until penal transportation ended in 1868, 160,000 men and women came to Australia as convicts.

While free settlers began to flow in from the early 1790s, life for prisoners was harsh. Women were outnumbered five to one and lived under constant threat of sexual exploitation. Male re-offenders were brutally flogged and could be hung for crimes as petty as stealing. The Aboriginal people displaced by the new settlement suffered even more. The dispossession of land and illness and death from introduced diseases disrupted traditional lifestyles and practices.

Squatters Push Across the Continent

By the 1820s, many soldiers, officers and emancipated convicts had turned land they received from the government into flourishing farms. News of Australia’s cheap land and bountiful work was bringing more and more boatloads of adventurous migrants from Britain. Settlers or ‘squatters’ began to move deeper into Aboriginal territories – often with a gun - in search of pasture and water for their stock.

In 1825, a party of soldiers and convicts settled in the territory of the Yuggera people, close to modern-day Brisbane. Perth was settled by English gentlemen in 1829, and 1835 a squatter sailed to Port Phillip Bay and chose the location for Melbourne. At the same time a private British company, proud to have no convict links, settled Adelaide in South Australia.

Gold Fever Brings Wealth, Migrants and Rebellion

Gold was discovered in New South Wales and central Victoria in 1851, luring thousands of young men and some adventurous young women from the colonies. They were joined by boat loads of prospectors from China and a chaotic carnival of entertainers, publicans, illicit liquor-sellers, prostitutes and quacks from across the world. In Victoria, the British governor’s attempts to impose order - a monthly license and heavy-handed troopers - led to the bloody anti-authoritarian struggle of the Eureka stockade in 1854. Despite the violence on the goldfields, the wealth from gold and wool brought immense investment to Melbourne and Sydney and by the 1880s they were stylish modern cities.

Australia Becomes a Nation

Australia’s six states became a nation under a single constitution on 1 January 1901. Today Australia is home to people from more than 200 countries.

Australians Go to War

The First World War had a devastating effect on Australia. There were less than 3 million men in 1914, yet almost 400,000 of them volunteered to fight in the war. An estimated 60,000 died and tens of thousands were wounded. In reaction to the grief, the 1920s was a whirlwind of new cars and cinemas, American jazz and movies and fervor for the British Empire. When the Great Depression hit in 1929, social and economic divisions widened and many Australian financial institutions failed. Sport was the national distraction and sporting heroes such as the racehorse Phar Lap and cricketer Donald Bradman gained near-mythical status.

During the Second World War, Australian forces made a significant contribution to the Allied victory in Europe, Asia and the Pacific. The generation that fought in the war and survived came out of it with a sense of pride in Australia’s capabilities.

New Australians Arrive to a Post-War Boom

After the war ended in 1945, hundreds of thousands of migrants from across Europe and the Middle East arrived in Australia, many finding jobs in the booming manufacturing sector. Many of the women who took factory jobs while the men were at war continued to work during peacetime.

Australia’s economy grew throughout the 1950s with major nation-building projects such as the Snowy Mountains Hydroelectric Scheme in the mountains near Canberra. International demand grew for Australia’s major exports of metals, wools, meat and wheat and suburban Australia also prospered. The rate of home ownership rose dramatically from barely 40 per cent in 1947 to more than 70 per cent by the 1960s.

Australia Loosens Up

Like many other countries, Australia was swept up in the revolutionary atmosphere of the 1960s. Australia’s new ethnic diversity, increasing independence from Britain and popular resistance to the Vietnam War all contributed to an atmosphere of political, economic and social change. In 1967, Australians voted overwhelmingly ‘yes’ in a national referendum to let the federal government make laws on behalf of Aboriginal Australians and include them in future censuses. The result was the culmination of a strong reform campaign by both Aboriginal and white Australians.

In 1972, the Australian Labor Party under the idealistic leadership of lawyer Gough Whitlam was elected to power, ending the post-war domination of the Liberal and Country Party coalition. Over the next three years, his new government ended conscription, abolished university fees and introduced free universal health care. It abandoned the White Australia policy, embraced multiculturalism and introduced no-fault divorce and equal pay for women. However by 1975, inflation and scandal led to the Governor-General dismissing the government. In the subsequent general election, the Labor Party suffered a major defeat and the Liberal–National Coalition ruled until 1983.

Since the 1970s

Between 1983 and 1996, the Hawke–Keating Labor governments introduced a number of economic reforms, such as deregulating the banking system and floating the Australian dollar. In 1996 a Coalition Government led by John Howard won the general election and was re-elected in 1998, 2001 and 2004. The Liberal–National Coalition Government enacted several reforms, including changes in the taxation and industrial relations systems. In 2007 the Labor Party led by Kevin Rudd was elected with an agenda to reform Australia’s industrial relations system, climate change policies, and health and education sectors.

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Terms of Use

Morris Murdock, LLC. - Terms of Use - The terms "we", "us" and "Company" refers to MorrisMurdock.com, LLC., its affiliates and/or their respective suppliers and providers ("Morris Murdock"), and "you" refers to the customer booking a reservation though us directly through this website, or indirectly through any of our affiliates through whom we provide services. All reservations you book through us are subject to the following terms, conditions and notices as they exist at the time the reservation is made. We reserve the right to change these terms, conditions and notices and you agree to accept and be bound by the terms, conditions and notices that are in effect at the time of your use of our website and facilities.

Personal & Noncommercial Use Limitations

This website is for your personal and noncommercial use. The content and information on this website (including, without limitation, price and availability of travel services), as well as the infrastructure used to provide such content and information, is proprietary to Morris Murdock. Accordingly, as a condition of using this website, you agree not to use this website or its contents or information for any commercial or non-personal purpose (direct or indirect). While you may make limited copies of your travel itinerary (and related documents) for travel or services purchased through this website, you agree not to modify, copy, distribute, transmit, display, perform, reproduce, publish, license, create derivative works from, transfer, or sell or re-sell any information, software, products, or services obtained from this website. In addition, whether or not you have a commercial purpose, you agree not to:

(i) access, monitor or copy any content or information of this website using any robot, spider, scraper or other automated means or any manual process for any purpose without express written permission of Morris Murdock;

(ii) violate the restrictions in any robot exclusion headers on this website or bypass or circumvent other measures employed to prevent or limit access to this website;

(iii) take any action that imposes, or may impose, in the discretion of Morris Murdock, an unreasonable or disproportionately large load on the Morris Murdock infrastructure; or

(iv) deep-link to any portion of this website (including, without limitation, the purchase path for any travel services) for any purpose without express written permission of Morris Murdock.

Copyright Notice

Trademark Notice

MorrisMurdock.com, the MorrisMurdock.com logo, are trademarks or registered trademarks in the U.S. and/or other countries. Other product and company names mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

Liability Disclaimer

THE INFORMATION, SOFTWARE, PRODUCTS, AND SERVICES PUBLISHED ON THIS WEBSITE MAY INCLUDE INACCURACIES OR TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS. IN PARTICULAR, MORRIS MURDOCK DOES NOT GUARANTEE THE ACCURACY OF, AND DISCLAIM LIABILITY FOR INACCURACIES RELATING TO HOTEL AND OTHER SUPPLIER PHOTOGRAPHS, HOTEL PROPERTY, CRUISE, AUTOMOBILE AND OTHER PRODUCT DESCRIPTIONS AND LISTS OF HOTEL AMENITIES AND OTHER PRODUCT DESCRIPTIONS DISPLAYED ON THIS WEBSITE, MUCH OF WHICH INFORMATION IS PROVIDED BY THE RESPECTIVE SUPPLIERS. HOTEL RATINGS DISPLAYED ON THIS WEBSITE ARE INTENDED AS ONLY GENERAL GUIDELINES, AND MORRIS MURDOCK DOES NOT GUARANTEE THE ACCUARACY OF THE RATINGS. CHANGES ARE PERIODICALLY ADDED TO THE INFORMATION HEREIN. MORRIS MURDOCK MAY MAKE IMPROVEMENTS AND/OR CHANGES ON THIS WEBSITE AT ANY TIME.

MORRIS MURDOCK MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS ABOUT THE SUITABILITY OF THE INFORMATION, SOFTWARE, PRODUCTS, AND SERVICES CONTAINED ON THIS WEBSITE FOR ANY PURPOSE, AND THE INCLUSION OR OFFERING FOR SALE OF ANY PRODUCTS OR SERVICES ON THIS WEBSITE DOES NOT CONSTITUTE ANY ENDORSEMENT OR RECOMMENDATION OF SUCH PRODUCTS OR SERVICES BY MORRIS MURDOCK. ALL SUCH INFORMATION, SOFTWARE, PRODUCTS, AND SERVICES ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. MORRIS MURDOCK HEREBY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES AND CONDITIONS WITH REGARD TO THIS INFORMATION, SOFTWARE, PRODUCTS, AND SERVICES, INCLUDING ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES AND CONDITIONS OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, AND NONINFRINGEMENT.

THE CARRIERS, HOTELS AND OTHER SUPLIERS PROVIDING TRAVEL OR OTHER SERVICES FOR MORRIS MURDOCK ARE INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS AND NOT AGENTS OR EMPLOYEES OF MORRIS MURDOCK. MORRIS MURDOCK IS NOT LIABLE FOR THE ACTS, ERRORS, OMISSIONS, REPRESENTATIONS, WARRANTIES, BREACHES OR NEGLIGENCE OF ANY SUCH SUPPLIERS OR FOR ANY PERSONAL INJURIEIS, DEATH, PROPERTY DAMAGE, OR OTHER DAMAGES OR EXPENSES RESULTING THEREFROM. Morris Murdock HAS NO LIABILITY AND WILL MAKE NO REFUND IN THE EVENT OF ANY DELAY, CANCELLATION, OVERBOOKING, STRIKE, FORCE MAJEURE OR OTHER CAUSES BEYOND THEIR DIRECT CONTROL, AND THEY HAVE NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY ADDITIONAL EXPENSE, OMISSIONS, DELAYS, RE-ROUTING OR ACTS OF ANY GOVERNMENT OR AUTHORITY.

IN NO EVENT SHALL MORRIS MURDOCK BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, PUNITIVE, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF, OR IN ANY WAY CONNECTED WITH, THE USE OF THIS WEBSITE OR WITH THE DELAY OR INABILITY TO USE THIS WEBSITE, OR FOR ANY INFORMATION, SOFTWARE, PRODUCTS, AND SERVICES OBTAINED THROUGH THIS WEBSITE, OR OTHERWISE ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF THIS WEBSITE, WHETHER BASED ON CONTRACT, TORT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR OTHERWISE, EVEN IF MORRIS MURDOCK, HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF DAMAGES. BECAUSE SOME STATES/JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, THE ABOVE LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

Indemnification

You agree to defend and indemnify the Company, its affiliates, and/or their respective suppliers and any of their officers, directors, employees and agents from and against any claims, causes of action, demands, recoveries, losses, damages, fines, penalties or other costs or expenses of any kind or nature including but not limited to reasonable legal and accounting fees, brought by:

you or on your behalf in excess of the liability described above; or

by third parties as a result of:

your breach of this agreement or the documents referenced herein;

your violation of any law or the rights of a third party; or

your use of this website.

No Unlawful or Prohibited Use

As a condition of your use of this website, you warrant that you will not use this website for any purpose that is unlawful or prohibited by these terms, conditions, and notices.

Links to Third-Party Sites

This website may contain hyperlinks to websites operated by parties other than Morris Murdock. Such hyperlinks are provided for your reference only. Morris Murdock does not control such websites and is not responsible for their contents or your use of them. Morris Murdock's inclusion of hyperlinks to such websites does not imply any endorsement of the material on such websites or any association with their operators.

Software Available on This Website

Any software that is made available to download from this website ("Software") is the copyrighted work of Morris Murdock. Your use of the Software is governed by the terms of the end user license agreement, if any, which accompanies, or is included with, the Software ("License Agreement"). You may not install or use any Software that is accompanied by or includes a License Agreement unless you first agree to the License Agreement terms.

For any Software not accompanied by a License Agreement, Morris Murdock hereby grants to you, the user, a personal, nontransferable license to use the Software for viewing and otherwise using this website in accordance with these terms and conditions and for no other purpose.

Please note that all Software, including, without limitation, all HTML code and Active X controls contained on this website, is owned by Morris Murdock, and is protected by copyright laws and international treaty provisions. Any reproduction or redistribution of the Software is expressly prohibited by law, and may result in severe civil and criminal penalties. Violators will be prosecuted to the maximum extent possible.

WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, COPYING OR REPRODUCTION OF THE SOFTWARE TO ANY OTHER SERVER OR LOCATION FOR FURTHER REPRODUCTION OR REDISTRIBUTION IS EXPRESSLY PROHIBITED. THE SOFTWARE IS WARRANTEED, IF AT ALL, ONLY ACCORDING TO THE TERMS OF THE LICENSE AGREEMENT.

You acknowledge that the Software and any accompanying documentation and/or technical information are subject to applicable export control laws and regulations of the United States of America ("USA"). You agree not to export or reexport the Software, directly or indirectly, to any countries that are subject to USA export restrictions.

Terms, Conditions and Warranties

Prepaid Hotel Transactions

You agree that your credit card will be charged for the full cost of your reservation upon submitting your reservation request. The cost of your reservation is the total of the indicated room rate multiplied by the number of days in your reservation, plus an additional amount for the tax recovery charges and our service fees. The tax recovery charge is assessed to recover the amount we pay to the hotel in connection with your reservation for sales and use, occupancy room tax, excise tax, value added and other similar taxes, and the balance of the additional amount is a fee we charge in connection with the handling of your reservation. Our service fee varies based on the amount and location of your reservation.

We are not the vendor collecting and remitting said tax to the applicable tax authorities. The vendors bill all applicable taxes to us and we remit such tax directly to the vendor. We are not a co-vendor associated with the vendor with whom we book or reserve our customer’s travel arrangements. Taxability and the appropriate tax rate vary greatly by location. Our actual tax cost paid to the vendor may vary from the tax recovery charge, depending upon the rates, taxability, etc., in effect at the time of the actual use of the hotel, automobile, etc., by our customer.

You may cancel or change your prepaid reservation, but you will be charged the cancellation or change fee indicated on the reservation order form. In addition, if you do not cancel or change your reservation before the cancellation policy period applicable to the hotel you reserved, which varies by hotel (usually 24 to 72 hours prior to your date of arrival), you will be subject to a charge of one night’s room rate, tax recovery charges and service fees. No refunds will be made for no-shows or early checkouts. See the hotel description for the cancellation policy period for each hotel. You agree to pay any cancellation or change fee that you incur. In some cases, hotels do not permit changes to or cancellations of reservations after they are made, generally for stays during holiday periods or special events. You will be notified before the reservation order is completed and your credit card is charged if a reservation is non-refundable or non-changeable. You agree to abide by the terms and conditions imposed with respect to any conditions imposed with respect to any completed reservation order for a hotel stay as specified on the reservation order form.

The Company attempts to secure the best hotel rates available. The Company’s guarantee provides limited assurance that our rates on prepaid hotel transactions are the lowest rates available. If a lower room rate is available to you for the same dates and the same hotel and you contact us prior to the property's cancellation deadline, we will either refund the difference or cancel your reservation without cancellation fee or other charge. This guarantee does not apply to special events such as New Year’s Eve and the Super Bowl or to non-refundable or non-changeable reservations.

Travel Destinations

Although most travel, including travel to international destinations, is completed without incident, travel to certain destinations may involve greater risk than others. Morris Murdock urges passengers to review travel prohibitions, warnings, announcements and advisories issued by the United States Government prior to booking travel to international destinations. Information on conditions in various countries and the level of risk associated with travel to particular international destinations can be found at www.state.gov, www.tsa.gov, www.dot.gov, www.faa.gov, www.cdc.gov, www.treas.gov/ofac and www.customs.gov.

BY OFFERING FOR SALE TRAVEL TO PARTICULAR INTERNATIONAL DESTINATIONS, MORRIS MURDOCK DOES NOT REPRESENT OR WARRANT THAT TRAVEL TO SUCH POINTS IS ADVISABLE OR WITHOUT RISK, AND IS NOT LIABLE FOR DAMAGES OR LOSSES THAT MAY RESULT FROM TRAVEL TO SUCH DESTINATIONS.

Modifications of These Terms & Conditions

Morris Murdock reserves the right to change the terms, conditions, and notices under which this website is offered and you agree to accept and be bound by those terms, conditions, and notices that are in effect at the time of your use of Morris Murdock’s website and facilities.

General

By using this website or booking a reservation through us you agree that the internal laws of the State of Texas, without regard to the principles of conflicts of laws, will govern this agreement and any dispute of any kind that arises between you and the Company or its affiliates. You hereby agree that any dispute arising from or relating to the use of this website or hotel reservations made through us may, if not amicably resolved, be resolved only through binding arbitration between you and us under the commercial rules of the American Arbitration Association. This arbitration, which shall be conducted in Salt Lake County, UT, USA before neutral arbitrators, shall not involve other customers, be combined with separate arbitrations involving other customers, or proceed as any type or form of class action in which the claims of similarly-situated customers are pursued together. Use of this website is unauthorized in any jurisdiction that does not give effect to all provisions of this agreement, including, but not limited, to this paragraph. We reserve the right to comply with law enforcement requests or requirements relating to your use of this website or information provided to or gathered by the Company with respect to your use of this website. If any provision of this agreement is determined to be invalid or unenforceable pursuant to applicable law by any court of competent jurisdiction, the other provisions of this agreement will remain in full force and effect.

You agree that no joint venture, partnership, employment, or agency relationship exists between you and the Company as a result of this agreement or use of this website.

We reserve the right to comply with law enforcement requests or requirements relating to your use of this website or information provided to or gathered by the Company with respect to your use of this website.

If any part of this agreement is determined to be invalid or unenforceable pursuant to applicable law including, but not limited to, the warranty disclaimers and liability limitations set forth above, then the invalid or unenforceable provision will be deemed superseded by a valid, enforceable provision that most closely matches the intent of the original provision and agreement shall continue in effect.

This agreement (and any other terms and conditions referenced herein) constitutes the entire agreement between the customer and the Company with respect to this website and it supersedes all prior or contemporaneous communications and proposals, whether electronic, oral, or written, between the customer and the Company with respect to this website. A printed version of this agreement and of any notice given in electronic form shall be admissible in judicial or administrative proceedings based upon or relating to this agreement to the same extent and subject to the same conditions as other business documents and records originally generated and maintained in printed form.

Use of Morrismurdock.com Website

The Morris Murdock website is provided solely to assist customers in determining the availability of travel-related goods and services and to make legitimate reservations or otherwise transact business with suppliers, and for no other purposes. You warrant that you are at least 18 years of age and possess the legal authority to enter into this agreement and to use this website in accordance with all terms and conditions herein. You agree to be financially responsible for all of your use of this website (as well as for use of your account by others, including, without limitation, minors living with you). You agree to supervise all usage of this website by minors under your name or account. You also warrant that all information supplied by you or members of your household in using this website is true and accurate. Without limitation, any speculative, false, or fraudulent reservation or any reservation in anticipation of demand is prohibited. You agree that the travel services reservations facilities of this website shall be used only to make legitimate reservations or purchases for you or for another person for whom you are legally authorized to act. You understand that overuse or abuse of the travel services reservation facilities of this website may result in you being denied access to such facilities.

Separate terms and conditions will apply to your reservation and purchase of travel-related goods and services that you select. You agree to abide by the terms or conditions of purchase imposed by any supplier with whom you elect to deal, including, but not limited to, payment of all amounts when due and compliance with the supplier's rules and restrictions regarding availability and use of fares, products, or services. You understand that any violation of any such supplier’s conditions of purchase may result in cancellation of your reservation(s) or purchase, in your being denied access to any flights, hotels, or automobiles, in your forfeiting any monies paid for such reservation(s) or purchase, and in Morris Murdock debiting your account for any costs Morris Murdock incurs as a result of such violation. You shall be completely responsible for all charges, fees, duties, taxes, and assessments arising out of the use of this website.